Former police arrested over computer virus plot

Officers among 8 detained in Ankara in investigation into 'parallel state', source says

By Ertugrul Subasi and Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA (AA) - Three former police officers were among eight people arrested in Ankara on Tuesday over an alleged plot to plant a virus on police computers, a source said.

The ex-officers, who were dismissed in connection with an alleged attempt to overthrow the government in December 2013, were arrested with four employees at a computer software firm and a member of staff at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.

They were arrested as part of an operation against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, also known as FETO/PDY and the “parallel state”, a police source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The former police officers are accused of planting a virus in the computers of the Police Intelligence Department in 2013, in collaboration with a software company based in Istanbul.

The source said the virus was detected and neutralized before any damage could be caused.

The source said the arrests were conducted after the identities of those responsible were “revealed” without saying how investigators discovered this information.

FETO/PDY is said to be behind a plan to overthrow the Turkish government in late 2013 through the release of wiretap tapes linked to an anti-corruption case. The organization, which is led by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, is accused of using followers embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police, to stage a coup.